Many tried-and-true recipes have really great names. Some examples: Mulligatawny Stew, Hush Puppies, Cock-a-Leekie Soup, Shepherd's Pie, Pigs in Blankets, Imam Bayildi, Ratatoulie, Ants Climbing a Tree, and my family's favorite take-out Chinese dish, Sizzling Happy Family.
Why not give new recipes names with some personality? Every time I open a cookbook or food magazine nowadays, I find recipes for "Herb-Encrusted Breast of Chicken with Braised Root Vegetables" or "Crispy Spiced Tofu with Coconut Rice". How about "Bird in the Basement" and "Tof-hooray!" instead? (Or as a young friend of mine would say, "Bird in the Baseump"). I recently came across a breakfast dish called "Jilted Eggs". That's what I'm looking for -- names with character, not just lists of ingredients. Now if I could just find a recipe to go with the name "Bantha Fodder".....-- china, Jun 04 2002 For Yamahito http://www.ultimate.../silly/silly10.htmlHis Cheeseburger. [RayfordSteele, Jun 08 2002, last modified Oct 04 2004] Consumer advice?-- phoenix, Jun 04 2002 [phoenix], it may lean that direction as originally worded, but I see potential here for a real idea for a public service organization. Rather than demanding that everyone should do X differently, how about offering a consulting service for the creatively challenged?
In this case, round up some creative volunteers (or hire some witty wordsmiths) and implement a call center (or web page) where patrons can find interesting names for the recipes they create. A database can track the recipe names in use and correlate ingredients so that similar names can be applied to similar foods, thereby reducing confusion. The organization could fund itself by compiling the recipes into yet another cookbook for sale.-- BigBrother, Jun 04 2002 Cornbeef hash.-- [ sctld ], Jun 04 2002 One summer day on the Upper West Side, I ordered something called Sexy Fries -- simply because they were called Sexy Fries. They arrived, and I discovered that, while they were indeed fries, they were not particularly sexy at all. In fact, they bore an amazing resemblance to those fast-food cross-cut fries.
Ever since, I have been wary of foods bearing fancy or cute names. Chiffonade does nothing for me; Flamin' Hot Cheetos, sorry; and I consider Death By Chocolate Cake to be sufficient warning in itself.
Give me specifics, any day. Write a menu item called Eggs With a Touch of Cream Cooked in Butter for Four Minutes; I'll buy it!-- 1percent, Jun 04 2002 Cover the potato eyes. As long as there are no highly impressionable Tater Tots nearby, you might want to see some action between some Steak Fries and Onion Rings-- thumbwax, Jun 04 2002 I think someone is haveing a *little* too much fun with the potatoes...-- barnzenen, Jun 04 2002 Trying to picture a 'potato lap dance' ... can't quite manage it. Homer Simpson could, I'm sure.
bliss, you kill me ...-- 1percent, Jun 04 2002 Absolutely. And when the new names are established, I would get started with a recipe relocation service: foods like fruitcake that have gotten a bad rap can start over with a new name.-- muggin2887, Jun 04 2002 Baked (npi), though you'd have had no way of knowing it. Selections from my wife's delicious creations: Boutros Golly Golly Parmolive Jingle Belly-- beauxeault, Jun 04 2002 //Mrs. Potato head, slowly gyrating and removing her little plastic blouse, ba bum ba bum,//
Note to self: hide that seductive tramp PotatoHead in the "KITCHEN IMPLEMENTS - NON-LETHAL" box, the better to discourage small children looking for weapons and other contraband ...
//slides ever so seductively out of her little potato head skirt, ba bum ba bum, and gives it a sassy toss out to the mesmerized potato head men audience,//
PotatoHead Men are hardly innocent bystanders in this debauchery, either: make sure to toss that disgusting little Mr. P tuber in the "BORING BOOKS ABOUT OTHER BOOKS" box ...
//and just about the time a whole bunch of potato head's are about to have one big baked potato climax, her potato wig goes flying//
Those sick amoral PotatoHead bastards ... I'm gonna write a strongly worded letter to the Hasbro people, or whoever else is responsible for this starchy blight on our God-fearing society.
And thank YOU, miss bliss, for yet another indelible mental image that will strike unbidden as one peruses the Hasbro aisle at FAO Schwartz ...-- 1percent, Jun 04 2002 I've got a sweet little potato And I love the way she spreads her skin Yes I got a sweet little potato And I love the way she spreads her skin Yes when she spreads her skin around me You know I get joy in everything I asked my tater for a small fry And she gave me a super size Yes asked my baby for a small fry And she gave me a super size I asked her for a little bit of butter My baby gave me a butter churn Yes if my tater should fry me Lord I do believe I would die Yes if my tater my tater should fry me I do believe I would die Yes if you done love me little potato Please please tell me the reason why I just got to have a little more Those potato mashers are perverts, aren't they?-- thumbwax, Jun 05 2002 <shaking head> bliss bliss bliss bliss </shaking> I was under the impression that Mrs. P had a slip on too. How would she work that in her little routine? Also, please don't mess up the Veggie-Tales shows, my kids love them and I already don't know how I am going to watch another video while thinking about Mrs. P dancing for just some common tater...-- barnzenen, Jun 05 2002 Anyone know where I can find a copy of the cheeseburger song?-- yamahito, Jun 05 2002 I like this idea. I think dishes with animal names are the way to go. We've got 'toad in the hole', and 'pig's blanket'; how about 'worm's graveyard', or 'bat in a frenzy'?-- stupop, Jun 05 2002 I'd eat 'bat in a frenzy' ... sounds like a challenge.
SOLICITOUS WAITER: So, how is everything?
DINER: <struggling to pin down wing, grinning> Strenuous, thanks!-- 1percent, Jun 05 2002 Bubble & squeak is my favorite.-- waugsqueke, Jun 05 2002 mmmmm, flaky. I feel reconstituted-- thumbwax, Jun 05 2002 How did I forget bubble & squeak? And "bat in a frenzy" could definitely apply to a meal or two I've prepared. Maybe we could combine this with the strange simile generator idea....
Yam, I'll tell you where the song is if you can tell me just exactly *what* Mr. Lunt is.-- china, Jun 05 2002 [china]: wow, ok, that's tough since I've never seen it, only heard the song... but i've got a gherkin in mind...
<cause you're his cheeseburger, his lovely cheeseburger..>-- yamahito, Jun 06 2002 nope, apparently he's a gourd...-- yamahito, Jun 06 2002 Ah, but a squash or a punpkin or what?-- barnzenen, Jun 06 2002 neither, a gourd fruit. It's of the same family as the squash and pumkin, but distinct from either. Apparently.-- yamahito, Jun 06 2002 Once I came up with a recipe "Soba Mess".
It might also be a good idea to come up with a recipe "Kichigakaramen". Or do they already have that one?-- juuitchan3, Jun 07 2002 Yam, 'The Cheeseburger Song' is called 'His Cheeseburger,' and is a 'Love Song with Mr. Lunt.' On a VeggieTales tape. There's probably a whole CD collection with them. See link.-- RayfordSteele, Jun 08 2002 found it a coupla days ago, cheers.-- yamahito, Jun 08 2002 random, halfbakery